descended a flight of steps let into the front of the wharf,
wet, slippery, ooze-covered steps left bare by the receding tide, and
stepping over the side entered the tiny deckhouse.

"This is the chart-house, shelter, and companion-way all in one,"
Hilliard explained. "All the engine controls come up here, and I
can reach them with my left hand while steering with my right." He
demonstrated as he spoke, and Merriman could not but agree that the
arrangements were wonderfully compact and efficient.

"Come below now," went on the proud owner, disappearing down a steep
flight of steps against one wall of the house.

The hull was divided into three compartments; amidships the engine room
with its twin engines, forward a store containing among other things a
collapsible boat, and aft a cabin with lockers on each side, a folding
table between them, and a marble-topped cupboard on which was a Primus
stove.

The woodwork was painted the same greenish white as the outside, but it
was soiled and dingy, and the whole place looked dirty and untidy. There
was a smell of various oils, paraffin predominating.

"You take the port locker," Hilliard explained. "You see, the top of it
lifts and you can stow your things in it. When there are only two of
us we sleep on the lockers. You'll find a sheet and blankets inside.
There's a board underneath that turns up to keep you in if she's
rolling; not that we shall want it until we get to the Mediterranean.
I'm afraid," he went on, answering Merriman's unspoken thought, "the
place is not very tidy. I hadn't time to do much squaring--I'll tell you
about that later. I suppose"--reluctantly--"we had better turn to and
clean up a bit before we go to bed. But"--brightening up again--"not
now. Let's go up town and get some dinner as soon as you are ready."

He fussed about, explaining with the loving and painstaking minuteness
of the designer as well as the owner, the various contraptions the boat
contained, and when he had finished, Merriman felt that, could he but
remember his instructions, there were few situations with which he could
not cope or by which he could be taken unawares.

A few minutes later the two friends climbed once more up the slippery
steps, and, strolling slowly up the town, entered one of the large
restaurants in the Place de la Comedie.

Since Merriman's arrival Hilliard had talked vivaciously, and his thin,
hawk-like face had seemed even more eager than the wine merc